Mr. Speaker, sudden infant death syndrome takes the lives of three children under the age of one in Canada every week of the year. I can imagine no worse tragedy for a parent than to put an apparently healthy baby to bed in his or her crib and never to have the baby wake up.

SIDS is the leading cause of death of babies between the ages of one month and one year.

October is SIDS Awareness Month and a perfect time to acknowledge the extra work done by the Canadian Foundation for the Study of Infant Death working in collaboration with Health Canada, the Canadian Paediatric Society and the Canadian Institute for Child Health. They provide education, awareness and support to parents who have been through this terrible tragedy. Thanks largely to their efforts the incidence of infant deaths due to SIDS has declined significantly in the past few years.

I know all members of the House will want to congratulate the Canadian Foundation for the Study of Infant Death on the success of their work to date and to wish them all the best in their future efforts.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians will be much safer under the justice platform released by the leader of the Canadian Alliance yesterday. We have seen far too many broken promises and too many failures of the present Liberal government to adequately address the concerns of our citizens toward providing safer communities and stronger communities.

The Liberals have it all wrong. Instead of being overly concerned with offenders of our laws, we must take a tougher approach to crime in order to provide a safer environment for our families.

A Canadian Alliance government will bring forth truth in sentencing. It will actually do something about youth justice. It will change our prison system so that release is earned and so that drugs are removed. It will repeal the costly firearm law and replace it with a practical firearms control system. We will work in harmony with the provinces and territories to address smuggling, drugs and border control.

It is long past time that Canada regained control over crime. It is long past time we had a government that will actually do something about criminal justice rather than just talk about it. Under the new leader of the Canadian Alliance, we will be offering a clear alternative on justice issues.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House and all Canadians that October 2 to 8 is Mental Illness Awareness Week.

This national public education campaign was launched in 1992 with the objective of de-stigmatizing mental illness, providing information on mental illnesses and their treatment and promoting public discussion and informed decision making about mental illness. The motto of Mental Illness Awareness Week is “Let's unmask mental illness”.

According to Statistics Canada, one in eight Canadians will be hospitalized for mental illnesses, such as major depression, thus impacting substantially on the lives of those affected.

Mental Illness Awareness Week provides an opportunity for Canadians to increase their awareness and understanding of mental illnesses and overcome the stigma often faced by persons with mental illness.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Michael Smith, Canada's leading scientist and 1993 winner of the Nobel prize, who passed away Wednesday at the age of 68.

Dr. Smith immigrated to Canada and joined the Department of Biochemistry at the University of British Columbia. In these early days of the genetics revolution he developed a critical technique that has become central to the field of biotechnology. His dedication to leading edge science continued, particularly through his leadership in the creation of the B.C. genome centre and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Dr. Smith's work has paved the way for new treatments offering hope to Canadians and people around the world. He was dedicated to Canada and inspired the next generation of researchers. He donated his Nobel prize award to schizophrenia research and to an endowment for women in science.

It is appropriate for all of us in the House to take a moment to reflect on and recognize this truly great Canadian.

Mr. Speaker, there is good news for the economy this morning: according to Statistics Canada's most recent report, the unemployment rate in Canada dropped to 6.8% in September. Employment rose by 56,000, divided almost equally between full and part time jobs.

Despite what the Canadian Alliance leader had to say yesterday, the direction to take is definitely that recommended by the Liberal government.

These encouraging labour market figures from Statistics Canada have ramifications for the Canadian economy as a whole, and benefit Quebec as well.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday afternoon the secretary of state responsible for FedNor and the members of the northern Ontario caucus gathered to announce federal support of over $250,000 for Laurentian University's office of health initiatives.

This funding will provide our northern Ontario communities with the resources to develop the best model and proposal to convince the province of Ontario to establish a northern and rural medical school in our region. This school will provide a real long term solution to the doctor shortage in northern Ontario.

The $250,000 in funding was provided by FedNor. Because of good projects like this one, the northern Ontario Liberal caucus fought to make FedNor a permanent program with increased resources.

By the way, the reform alliance announced last night that it would cancel FedNor. I guess it is true that the reform alliance has no consideration whatsoever for the needs of northern Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, during a recent ceremony in Lévis, the Fondation de la famille terrienne selected the family of Lucille and Hector Lebel, who live in Saint-Épiphane de Rivière-du-Loup, as Quebec's farming family of the year.

This prestigious award is given in recognition of strong personal and work ethics and will be presented to the family at a solemn mass at the parish church of Saint-Épiphane, on October 28.

This fine family from our riding stands out for its commitment to excellence, its farming expertise and its unstinting involvement in our community life.

The Bloc Quebecois members are proud to congratulate the family of Lucille and Hector Lebel on receiving this much-deserved award for the year 2000.

Mr. Speaker, on September 22, 1994 the justice minister addressed a rally on Parliament Hill, promising the 21,000 fed up responsible gun owners “We do not want to take away your hunting rifles or discourage people from the responsible use of firearms for hunting and shooting”.

This week the retired chief of police, Phil Morlock, sent me a sad letter. I will quote:

I have a 16 year old daughter who wishes to hunt this fall. She has passed the Ontario hunter safety and federal firearm licensing courses (97% in both) but the new law says she must also have a Minors Permit.

I phoned the Canadian Firearms Centre where I was informed that they do not have any capacity, staff or mandate to handle Minors Permits at the federal level as that is now the responsibility of the Chief Firearms Officer for each province. I phoned the C.F.O. contact number for Ontario. The answering machine instructed me to leave a message with the assurance that `someone would get back to me'. Someone did call back—from the Canadian Firearms Centre—telling me that they did not have the capacity or staff to handle Minors Permits at the federal level.

Mr. Speaker, last week the member for Kootenay—Columbia deeply offended all Canadians by calling Canada's Chinese community a threat to national security.

Following question period on September 20, I received a letter from the president of the Federation of Ottawa-Carleton Chinese Community Organizations condemning the member for Kootenay—Columbia.

We already know that the leader of the Canadian Alliance said nothing when members of his party insulted the work ethic of Atlantic Canadians. Now we can add Chinese Canadians to their hit list.

Let us call a spade a spade. The Reform Party may have changed its name but it represents nothing more than a thin veneer of intolerance. In fact, leaders in the Chinese community are asking if the intentions of the member for Kootenay—Columbia are simply racist, insane or both.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard this song before. In 1982 Saskatchewan voters elected a youthful, athletic sloganeer named Grant Devine on promises from his right wing political alliance to cut taxes for the rich and still somehow improve services like health care and education.

What was the result? Nine years later our taxes have doubled and our services have been gutted. The free dental plan for children and the prescription drug plan that covered every resident of the province have been wiped out. Medicare is in shambles. The alliance also left the people of Saskatchewan carrying a debt of $15,000 for every man, woman and child.

Those conservative alliance people in Saskatchewan left a 60 year mortgage for working people and farmers. They milked them dry to pay for a one time tax party for the rich. Those same people in Saskatchewan are now part of the Canadian conservative reform alliance. Their policies nearly ruined Saskatchewan. Canadians should not be tricked into believing they will work for Canada. We should remember the lessons of history so we do not get fooled again.

Mr. Speaker, on September 24, the audience of 3,000 who had come to hear Verdi's Requiem at the salle Wilfrid-Pelletier had the pleasure of seeing Yannick Nezet-Séguin awarded the prestigious Virginia Parker Prize presented annually by the Canada Council.

This young orchestra conductor, whom Claude Gingras readily describes as a brilliant talent and a veritable phenomenon, joins other famous recipients of this award from Quebec, including Louis Lortie, Sophie Rolland, Marc-André Hamelin, Karina Gauvin, Alain Trudel and Richard Raymond.

Barely 25 years of age, he has been the assistant conductor and chorus director with the Opéra de Montréal since 1998. He was the guest conductor of the Orchestre métropolitain de Montréal in 1998 and is now its artistic director and principal conductor.

Mr. Nezet-Séguin, the extraordinary ovation that followed the performance of Verdi's Requiem was in tribute to your youth, your talent and your sensitivity. It is clearly the prelude to an international career. The Bloc Quebecois salutes you with pride.

Mr. Speaker, the Alliance has been calling for debt reduction but as with so many other issues, like its tax policy, it keeps changing the numbers.

It originally called for an annual payment of $3 billion on the debt. It has now changed its mind and called for a debt pay-down of $6 billion annually.

It is time for the Alliance to wake up. The train has left the station and the Alliance is not on it. The government has already paid down more than $6 billion of debt per year over the last three fiscal years, for a total of $18.7 billion. By making these payments we are freeing up more than $1 billion annually in interest payments, which can be used to address the needs and priorities of Canadians.

This action on our debt is yet another dividend from the responsible fiscal management that the Liberal government continues to provide to Canadians. Under our leadership things will just keep getting better and better.

Mr. Speaker, on September 29 I had the pleasure to attend the 23rd annual Nova Scotia 4-H Pro-Show located at the South Shore exhibition grounds in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.

This year's show brought 1,800 4-H members and leaders to Lunenburg county. It was estimated that by closing day over 10,000 people had visited the show, making Nova Scotia's 4-H Pro-Show 2000 one of the most successful ever.

The official opening platform guests were led to the stage by Arthur Young's oxen and entertained by the Lunenburg County Fiddlers. Everyone was welcomed by Bridgewater town crier Ossie Stiles. The hon. Ernest Fage, Minister of Agriculture for the province of Nova Scotia, along with the provincial 4-H king and queen and co-chairs Lorraine Wile and Robert Joudrew, opened the show with a parade of clubs representing every county in Nova Scotia.

Special recognition must be given to all the volunteers who worked behind the scenes and made this year's 23rd annual Nova Scotia 4-H show a fantastic success. They showcased Lunenburg county, introduced the rest of Nova Scotia to typical South Shore hospitality and, most importantly, supported 4-H.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Clifford Shearing, a University of Toronto criminologist, was a valued member of the Patten commission that recommended important reforms to the policing service in Northern Ireland.

Dr. Shearing recently expressed his grave concerns about the current failure of the British government to focus on the main points of the Patten report. The central theme of the report is the need to establish a holistic approach to policing in Northern Ireland.

He further warned that the report cannot be cherry-picked but must be implemented in full if it is to win the confidence and support of both communities in Northern Ireland. An impartial police force acceptable to both communities is a sine qua non for success in the peace process.

I join with Dr. Shearing in calling upon the Government of Britain to implement in full both the letter and the spirit of the Patten report on policing in Northern Ireland.

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Alliance released its election platform yesterday and oh, what a platform it was, was it not?

A cornerstone of our platform is to do what? It is to save that which is most important to Canadians: medicare. Why? Because it was this government that slashed $25 billion in transfer payments over the last seven years.

What do we want to do? We will restore funding to health care. We will give the provinces a five year stable funding platform. We will make sure that Canadians get accessible health care for all, regardless of the amount of money they have in their pockets.

Why? Because we are not prepared to have the two tier health care system that we have today as a result of the government cutting health care for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, in the last election the people of Nova Scotia declared that the Liberals were irrelevant, so I thought that Liberal members could use a primer on what the current issues are down home.

The health care crisis is getting worse, not better. The Dartmouth General Hospital will soon be no more than a glorified triage centre and nursing home. There are too few nurses, too few doctors. We have the highest tuition and some of the biggest student debt loads in the country.

People are worried about their drinking water. They are scared about the chemicals in our harbour and time bombs like the tar ponds. They want federal environmental standards that stop people from getting sick. We are all ashamed that one in five of our children is living in poverty.

These are the relevant issues and problems in my community. They call for better programs, not better public relations. They call for representatives who will speak out, not apologize and duck and weave. I am proud to raise issues which are relevant to the people of Dartmouth. So let's rock.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians were outraged at the scandal in HRDC that gave rise to 20 police investigations. Now we find out that the minister for ACOA has written a letter to a Newfoundland company saying that it would only get $10 million in ACOA funding if it moved to the minister's riding.

This is the most blatant abuse of ministerial power that I have ever seen. When will the Prime Minister ask for the minister's resignation?